Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Okay...I lied. Turns out it's not such a Wordless Wednesday after all! =p You will forgive me, right? So today's dish consists of 2 Indian foods I've wanted to try at home for a very long time: butter paneer masala and naan flatbread! And the genius idea of combining them into a "pizza" of sorts is one I've wanted to test out ever since I sampled a similar appetizer at the fab D.C. restaurant Indique 3 years ago (yes threee!).

There's no getting around it. Homemade paneer cheese and naan do require hours of waiting time (draining/pressing time for the 1st and dough relaxing time for the 2nd). But when you look at the hands on time for it all, it's really just no more than an hour for everything. There is one very real problem to this plan, though. Paneer curry is so well loved (at least around here) that there's little chance of finding naturally occurring "leftovers" to make into naan pizza. I offer these possible solutions: (1) do what I did and just use the fresh curry to make pizza or (2) double the curry recipe but don't let anyone else know you did lest they go rummaging.

If you like Indian food as much as we do, you'll definitely enjoy these. But even if you don't, homemade (or even store-bought) naan is a great shortcut when you don't have pizza dough on hand. Just replace the curry with cheese, veggies, pepperoni, or whatever else you like on your pizzzzza-pies. Happy eating! Lastly, just a reminder that I'm now on Twitter. Please stop by and say hi -- I'm still adjusting to this Brave New World ;p.

XIAOLU'S NOTES: After a couple of comments about how time-intensive it'd be to make everything from scratch, I wanted to assure you that you don't have to go DIY crazy like me to make really yummy curry, naan, or naan pizza. I'm really just offering several ideas for you to play with and hopefully fit into your own cooking. Feel free to use store-bought paneer and naan. You could even just make naan pizza with traditional pizza toppings like tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, etc. As always I encourage you to play with your food!

In a pan, saute the paneer cubes (in batches if necessary) in oil that's about 1/4-inch deep until golden brown and crisp on all sides. Remove, letting the oil drain off from a slotted spatula or spoon as you do so, and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds have cracked (you'll hear it), add the tomato paste, tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder, and bay leaves. Cook for about 4 minutes more. The tomato mixture will start to separate visibly from the oil and will reduce to about half its starting volume.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the heavy cream until smooth then add the mixture and the well-beaten yogurt to the gravy. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Next, add the green peas (if using) and fried paneer cubes. Let cook for a few minutes until the peas are tender. Finally, add the salt, garam masala, and cilantro. Taste the curry, adding a little sugar if the gravy is sour (add 1 to 2 pinches of baking soda if gravy is very sour) or salt if needed. Serve hot with basmati rice and/or Indian flatbread such as naan (see recipe below) or chapati.

NOTES: These are the ingredients for dough and then you can flavor your naan with all kinds of herbs, including cumin naan, garlic naan, butter naan and some topped with cilantro greens. So have fun with this!

Mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well of flour. Now mix milk and yogurt together. Pour half of yogurt mixture and the oil into the well and slowly combine. There isn't an exact amount of liquid that should be added to make a perfect dough. So just add liquid slowly and combine it all together slowly until a soft dough is made. The dough should be soft enough for you to be able to dig your finger into it without applying any pressure. If dough sticks to hand too much then use little bit of oil on hand and then punch into the dough. Cover with damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

After a few hours, dust your working board with flour, take out the dough and knead it about 2 to 3 minutes. Divide the dough into smaller balls (you should get about 6 or 7 balls to make naans). Flour the board again and flatten [I used a combination of rolling and pulling] the balls to make bread which is a little thick and elongated [about 7 to 8 inches long]. If desired, sprinkle one side of the bread with a flavor of your choosing (such as cumin, minced garlic, or chopped cilantro). Brush the other side with water.

Heat a thick bottom skillet or a wok or any heavy bottom pan with a lid. Once its nicely hot, place the naan wet side down which would stick and cover it with a lid. Let it cook for about 30 seconds or until you see bubbles on top. Now cook the other side of the naan over the direct flame of a burner with the help of tongs (be careful!). When you see some charred brown spots then you know that the naan is done. Spread some butter over the bubbly side and enjoy!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush one side of each naan bread with olive or vegetable oil, and place breads on a large baking sheet, oiled side down. Spread about 1/3 cup of paneer curry across each piece of naan, leaving at least a 1/4-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, if desired. Bake naans for 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves and dig in!

It looks gorgeous! I've tasted paneer once when I was studying in Sydney. It was grilled with tandoori spices, very yummy! I loved it, i'm going to try making my own paneer since it costs a bomb here. Thanks :)

Looks and sounds awesome. I haven't eaten butter chicken for a very long time and I miss it, thanks for the reminder:) Your butter dish has no butter and butter chicken has little butter. It was a bad idea to name it butter chicken, maybe it sounded attractive before.

I love Manjula's recipes and her videos. She's such an authentic personality. That butter paneer curry you made looks amazing! And that naan... pizza material for sure. I love all kinds of flat breads but naan is one of my favorite (along with pita, I am Greek after all) :)Magda

Adore the rustic pan you used..nice props!!! I'm swooning over the dish, seriously. I cheat and buy the bread from the bakery... you are inspiring me to make it.. I get this pizza Nan at the pastry shop next door to my house but I never thought of making it before.... I can't wait to try this.

Thanks so much for your holy basil recommendation! Unfortunately the nursery didn't have any today, but I'll keep looking. Your paneer recipe and the pizza look so delicious {I shared it on my blog today :-)}. I would love to try making some gluten free naan to go with it!

Vivienne & Min - it did take some effort on my part but you can def take some shortcuts like buying paneer (though homemade is much tastier) or buying naan from the store. Yes, asafoetida is not absolutely essential. It does add something nice to the taste, but leave it out if you don't have it :).

You sold me with that gorgeous photo alone, and THEN I read the recipe... What a knock-out! I love curry of all sorts (who doesn't?) so this is one I feel must be made, asap. Plus, the pairing of naan makes the whole meal fool-proof, I can imagine serving this to anyone and having them love it. :)

Oh my goodness Xiaolu!!! First of all - butter paneer??! Yum. Homemade pita?? Yum. And THEN you made it into a pizza. I wish you were making me dinner tonight! I'm definitely saving all these recipes, it looks seriously unforgettable. (Typo in your name! Deleting the other comment. ;) )